Element chord contains the encoding of a chord. Because of hierarchies employed in IEEE 1599, a chord is homorhythmic: in fact, if two or more simultaneous notes had different rhythmic values, they should be disposed in different voices. Let us remark that even single notes are considered chords, composed by a single notehead.

Attributes

id, an optional attribute to provide identification.

event_ref, a mandatory attribute to identify the spine event which chord should be linked to.

stem_direction, an optional attribute to define the stem direction.

beam_before, an attribute that allows grouping of a number of chords under the same beam. If the attribute is set to "yes", a previous chord sends a beam to the current one.

beam_after, an attribute that allows grouping of a number of chords under the same beam. If the attribute is set to "yes", a following chord expects a beam from the current one.

cue, an attribute that defines the chord as a cue. The term relates to the insertion of music as a prompt for a performer or stage hand to carry out an action or deliver a line.

tremolo_lines, an optional attribute that encodes the number of tremolo lines to be applied to the current chord. Please note that the symbol to implement multi-note tremolos is defined among ornaments (see below).